Latest news with #SteveParish
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Crystal Palace at CAS: What could club argue as they try to win back Europa League spot?
Common sense would suggest that confirmation of John Textor's exit from Crystal Palace should resolve the issues around the Premier League club's connection to French side Lyon. After all, the American investor has now both sold his Palace stake and left all positions of authority at Lyon. Unfortunately, one person's common sense is another's opinion — fun to debate, but not the best foundations for a cross-border sports competition involving huge prizes. Advertisement To do that, you are better off with a set of written rules which are fair, proportionate, transparent and well-drafted. If they are not, well, that's why we invented lawyers. This is where Palace find themselves: denied entrance to the Europa League, the competition they qualified for by winning last season's FA Cup, and effectively demoted to the third-tier Conference League for breaching European football governing body UEFA's multi-club ownership (MCO) rules. And so Palace are taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), asking the so-called 'supreme court' of worldwide athletic endeavour to overturn UEFA's decision. Palace have also named Nottingham Forest and Lyon in their appeal, as their fellow Premier League side have been elevated from the Conference League to the second-tier Europa League at their expense, while their disputed stablemates from Ligue 1 have been left in the Europa League, as their higher domestic league finish of the two sides trumps winning the FA Cup. Steve Parish, Palace's chairman, will not mind which of those clubs CAS demotes, as long as what he views as the 'terrible injustice' of his team being removed from the Europa League is reversed. He believes he must take this fight on for Palace's players, staff and fans, as well as others who might find themselves in this position one day. And he clearly thinks this would not happen to a bigger, established side, so there is an 'us versus them' element to his crusade. Having said all that, how could Palace go about persuading CAS? It was then International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch who first realised global sport needed an in-house method for washing dirty linen, as the regular courts are expensive, potentially embarrassing and painfully slow. With the IOC willing to pay for it all, housing it in Lausanne, the Olympic Movement's Swiss home, made sense. Advertisement CAS opened in 1984 and, initially, three-person panels picked from a small pool of experts nominated by the IOC, its president and Olympic federations made decisions about commercial and disciplinary arguments. The system worked pretty well until 1992, when the International Equestrian Federation found a German rider named Elmar Gundel guilty of doping his horse and banned him. When CAS rejected his appeal, Gundel took his fight to Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court. He did not get much joy there either, but the court did agree that the link between CAS and the IOC was too cosy. The result was the 1994 creation of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS), an arms-length body that would run and finance CAS for all Olympic and Paralympic sports. When the World Anti-Doping Agency was created in 1999, CAS was also formally established as the last stop for doping cases. Its workload has increased each year. In 2024, more than 900 cases were submitted to CAS, with about 300 progressing to full-blown hearings. It now has 45 permanent staff, plus around 400 experts serving as visiting arbitrators, who are housed in a purpose-built office in Lausanne's poshest convention centre. The basic proposition has not changed much. Each side in a dispute chooses a member of the panel, with those two usually picking a third expert from the pool to be the panel's chair. If they can't decide, ICAS will select one. Hearings are private, with costs kept low. Verdicts typically come within six to 12 months but expedited hearings are held for matters in need of quick answers, such as doping cases during an ongoing Olympics and over Palace's predicament. The draw for the final round of Conference League qualifying is a week today (August 4), with those two-legged ties then scheduled for August 21 and 28. Palace, Forest and Lyon need to know ASAP which competition they're in. In terms of results, sports federations still tend to win the day, as Gundel discovered, but Manchester City famously beat UEFA at CAS in 2020, while Paul Pogba's doping ban was reduced from four years to 18 months last year, saving his career. Palace's starting point is likely to be that Textor, whose Eagle Football Group still contains his controlling stakes at Brazilian side Botafogo, Belgian's RWDM Brussels (rebranded from Molenbeek earlier this year) and Lyon, did not have what UEFA calls 'decisive influence' at Selhurst Park, and that they have never been part of his multi-club group. Advertisement This, you would think, is supported by the fact he has just sold his 43 per cent stake in Palace to Woody Johnson, the billionaire owner of the NFL's New York Jets and former U.S. ambassador to the UK. Furthermore, that 43 per cent stake only gave Textor one of four voting shares at Palace, with Parish and two other American investors, David Blitzer and Josh Harris, also holding one each. As Textor has previously explained to The Athletic, decisions at Palace very rarely, if ever, went to a vote, as Blitzer and Harris are silent partners who trust Parish to run things. So, Parish would always have 75 per cent of the votes, and he had no interest in Textor's plan to integrate the Londoners into the Eagle multi-club universe. Blitzer, Harris, Parish and Textor all went to UEFA's headquarters in the Swiss city of Nyon last month to make this point but the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), the arms-length unit that decides which teams can and cannot be licensed to play in the three European competitions, wasn't buying it. Instead, it ruled that Textor's influence was decisive at Palace because he has injected more than £100million ($134m at the current rate) into the club since 2022, money that helped them finish their new-look academy facilities and sign players, and was the largest single shareholder which meant he must, at the very least, have had a say in what they could and could not do. A decisive say? Well, that is why CAS exists. Dr Antoine Duval is the head of Asser International Sports Law Centre in the Netherlands and a seasoned watcher of CAS's decision-making. He believes it's possible the CAS panel will disagree with the CFCB assessment but says the 'quality of the evidence provided by Palace about its internal management structure and the role, or lack of it, of Textor/Eagle will be crucial'. Textor's voting rights will be a key consideration for CAS, but so will his financial contributions and influence on recruitment and commercial strategy. For example, he was a strong advocate of appointing Oliver Glasner, the Austrian head coach who led Palace to their FA Cup triumph, in February last year, although he recently insisted on UK radio station Talksport that the notion he 'made the hire (at Palace) happen… that's not true at all. I tried to get him at Lyon — if he spoke French, he'd be there. I told UEFA that a suggestion is not decisive influence. Nobody tells Steve (Parish) what to do, he's as stubborn as anybody.' Palace, no doubt, will say the only player to be transferred between them and Lyon was centre-back Jake O'Brien in 2023: beyond some young players going on loan to Molenbeek (including O'Brien, earlier in his career), they had no other transactions with an Eagle Football Group club, despite Textor's frequent suggestions. Advertisement But Dr Gregory Ioannidis, an experienced campaigner at CAS and an associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University, is not sure this will be enough to sway the panel. He believes Palace will try to argue that a 'more flexible and purposeful interpretation of the regulations' should be applied, with the club's lawyers asking the panel to think about what UEFA is trying to achieve with its MCO rules, fair competition, and whether the English side pose any threat to that legitimate aim. 'But if the panel decides the rules are clear, and therefore a strict and literal approach needs to be applied, the chances for a successful appeal will be minimised,' explains Ioannidis. While each case is considered on its own merits, precedents can be helpful, and two CAS panels have recently made very quick decisions on MCO cases involving Slovakian team FC DAC 1904 and Drogheda United from the Republic of Ireland. Both were blocked from playing in the Conference League by the CFCB and then lost their appeals, DAC unanimously and Drogheda on a majority verdict. The two cases were different but both argued they simply did not have enough time to create the separation UEFA requires between them and their MCO sister clubs. As MCO groups have proliferated across Europe, UEFA has given owners two options: reduce your stake in one of the clubs that want to compete in the same competition to less than 30 per cent, step down as a director and halt whatever player-trading strategy you are pursuing with the two teams, or put one of into a blind trust, so you have no influence over day-to-day operations. Crucially, UEFA moved the deadline for doing one or the other of these workarounds from early June to March 1. DAC, Drogheda and Palace all missed this memo. However, in both the DAC and Drogheda cases, the CAS panels backed UEFA. Advertisement 'What is of immense importance here is the panels' findings that the current regulations do not require evidence of actual influence, but rather only the possibility of such influence,' says Ioannidis. 'This, in conjunction with the finding on the procedural aspect of submitting the changes in the club's ownership structure on time (or not), may cause serious difficulties for those arguing Palace's case.' Parish has explained in recent interviews that Palace were too busy playing Championship neighbours Millwall in the last 16 of the FA Cup on March 1 to be thinking about what might happen if they were to win the whole thing and play in Europe for the first time in their history, but Duval says the deadline argument is doomed. 'It seems to me that a possible argument about the new deadline has already been rejected, thus the main focus will probably be on whether Textor had decisive influence,' he says. And while Palace will come armed with evidence that shows Textor was routinely ignored, UEFA's lawyers will no doubt point to the letter CFCB chair Sunil Gulati sent to the club licensing managers at UEFA's 55 member associations last May which spells out what 'decisive influence' means. A literal reading of that document — the 30 per cent shareholding threshold, significant financial support, being a director, the ability to influence recruitment decisions and so on — would suggest Palace's legal team are going to have their work cut out. Given all that, it might make sense for Palace to make a more general argument that a strict application of the rules in this case simply make no sense, as there is obviously no threat to the integrity of the competition, which is the entire point of article 5.01 in UEFA's rulebook, the regulation that deals with MCO clubs. And there is some encouragement here, in that the concepts of fairness, integrity and sporting justice are all enshrined in Swiss law. But there are risks attached to this approach, too. 'Swiss law does protect such principles and both CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal (where any appeals over a CAS verdict are heard but rarely upheld) have ruled accordingly,' says Ioannidis. 'However, I wouldn't run this argument, because the panel may take the view that it is precisely for these principles that UEFA's decision may be upheld, as the other clubs in the competition acted promptly and ensured they followed the rules and deadlines.' Advertisement That said, the Drogheda case shows that one of the panel disagreed with his colleagues. The written judgment has not been published, so we do not know why they disagreed but it is possible the Irish club's plea for a more common-sense-based assessment of the rules was persuasive. Palace may think that if they can do the same, they are halfway there. 'Not everything is negative for Palace,' says Ioannidis. 'I would argue that the intention of the regulator is to ensure fair competition. As such, the fact that Palace may have realised their mistake and acted in compliance with the rules, albeit late, shows a genuine and honest approach to the legitimate aim pursued by UEFA. 'In this instance, it would be fair, just and reasonable for UEFA to allow Palace to be admitted to the Europa League.' Another possible line of attack for Palace is the apparent inconsistencies in the application of UEFA's rules — and this is where the decision to make Forest a party in this appeal is intriguing. The argument, presumably, would be that Evangelos Marinakis, owner of both Forest and Greece's Olympiacos, did not place the former in a blind trust until the end of April, a move he reversed when they eventually failed to join their cousins from Athens in next season's Champions League. It is a moot point now but Marinakis seemed to miss the UEFA deadline, too, and, if literal readings are important, you either meet it or you don't. If Palace wanted to be really mischievous, they could ask what Marinakis was doing on the pitch at the end of Forest's home draw against Leicester City on May 11. While he may well have been checking on the health of an injured Forest player, the episode suggested the Greek billionaire still exerted some influence at the City Ground despite that blind-trust move. And, just to add some further spice to the pot, Parish has suggested that Forest played a part in Palace's demotion to the Conference League. But an argument that effectively depends on the panel accepting that it is OK for a club to be confused about the regulations is unlikely to pan out. 'The rules and deadlines have always been there, and Palace had to act promptly, irrespective of what other clubs did,' says Ioannidis. 'The panel might say that a professional club, with an army of expert lawyers, ought to be more diligent and proactive. If confused, they could have asked UEFA for clarification.' And with that sensible advice, we should probably wrap this up and wait for CAS to make sense of it all. Hopefully.
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Football's changed beyond belief since my first game 26 years ago – cling onto fact there's still people kicking a ball
AS CRYSTAL PALACE prepare a complex legal case against demotion from the Europa League, it makes you think. If not, it should do. That within two months of the only genuinely heart-warming moment from a forgettable Premier League season, the one feel-good factor from 12 months of humdrum routine has been blown to smithereens. 9 Crystal Palace beat Man Utd at Wembley to secure a spot in next year's Europa League Credit: PA 9 However, multi-club ownership rules saw them demoted to the Conference League Credit: Getty 9 Eagles chairman Steve Parish will battle the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Yet in less time than it takes for VAR to check for your average offside, the joy has been cut short. Because the growing trend for multi-ownership and the pursuit of power among the world's richest has put football second — again. With Eagles shareholder John Textor also having financial interests in Europa-League bound READ MORE ON FOOTBALL Two clubs under the influence of the same bloke can't compete in the same competition. And fair enough. So, Palace's What was once a little-known legal body based in a mansion in Switzerland is now becoming as big a name as And that Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 9 John Textor has since sold his stake in Palace to fellow American Woody Johnson Credit: AFP Lawyers and business tycoons have replaced centre-forwards and centrefolds as the main players at the heart of our national sport. Let's rewind to July 1999 and compare notes. The only reason I suggest this date is because that's when I started on staff at SunSport. Crystal Palace legend Geoff Thomas slams Uefa for denying them a Europa League place After bluffing my way through it for 26 years, this will be my last column before leaving so it's as good a point in time as any. Back then, on the cusp of the new millennium, Alan Shearer was widely reported as the Premier League's top earner on £34K a week at Shearer's £1.76million a year is dwarfed by the estimated £18.2m annually Mo Salah will trouser under his new Average wages in the UK for last year were roughly £37,000 per year. You don't have to be Carol Vorderman to work out that the gap has widened considerably. In the summer of '99, The only treble the fans can enjoy these days is a stiff one in the boozer after the latest abject collapse on the pitch at a fallen giant. But at least that's football related. 9 Man Utd completed the Treble in 1999 with a dramatic win over Bayern Credit: Getty 9 Jonny Evans' departure at the end of the season means there are no more players at the club who played under Sir Alex Ferguson Credit: Getty So much of what masquerades as our favourite sport has nothing to do with shirts, shorts and shin pads. And back when Tony Blair was still regarded as a half-decent PM, there was no VAR to kill the spontaneous release that is a goal being scored. In 1999, the beleaguered boss of the referees' union did not have to appear regularly on TV to desperately fight the corner of members. In 1999, not every defeat was considered a national disaster by over-hyped figures in the game. In 1999, clubs were not selling their own hotels back to themselves to get round spending rules. Spending rules brought in to stop nation states hoovering up our best teams at the expense of fair competition. In 1999, there were 17 managers of British and Irish descent working in the Prem. Today it's five. In 1999, the biggest transfer of the summer was Nicolas Anelka's exit from The £22.5m was considered big money. Most pertinent of all, in 1999 Premier League grounds were alive. They were not stop-offs for foreign tourists sitting in silent bewilderment while clutching bags of overpriced tat from club shops. The game hasn't gone these past 26 years but it's going. 9 Somewhere in the middle of all the legal battles, foreign takeovers, stakeholders, rights holders, influencers, extortionate ticket prices, popcorn, VAR, play-acting and social media tripe, there are still people kicking footballs. Cling on to that. CAPTAINCY IS IN LEVI'S GENES FAREWELL NOTE TO CHELSEA: During the Club World Cup, the defender grew in stature so much off the pitch and is emerging as a superb ambassador for a club that can struggle for positive PR. From discussing his secret LEGO passion, to bold declarations that When 9 Levi Colwill was integral to Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph in the US Credit: Getty JUAN-NIL LOSS BARCELONA is 920 miles from London. Marcus Rashford seems to think it is a world away. By refusing to answer any questions in English at his unveiling by the Spanish giants he has already scored a little own goal. You can pretend it's to ingratiate himself with the Catalan locals but nobody over here is really fooled. Rashford might think he has been harshly treated by the English media but I have never met a reporter who doesn't wish him all the very best and wants him to do well for his club and for And more importantly than anything to do with football, his campaign for free school meals is a standout moment as a human being. 9 Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on a season-long loan after falling out with Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim Credit: Getty It's worth remembering that his move to There'll be questions then — and no hiding place behind the lingo.
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Football's changed beyond belief since my first game 26 years ago – cling onto fact there's still people kicking a ball
Through the money and the years, football has mutated into a monster game changers Football's changed beyond belief since my first game 26 years ago – cling onto fact there's still people kicking a ball Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AS CRYSTAL PALACE prepare a complex legal case against demotion from the Europa League, it makes you think. If not, it should do. That within two months of the only genuinely heart-warming moment from a forgettable Premier League season, the one feel-good factor from 12 months of humdrum routine has been blown to smithereens. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 9 Crystal Palace beat Man Utd at Wembley to secure a spot in next year's Europa League Credit: PA 9 However, multi-club ownership rules saw them demoted to the Conference League Credit: Getty 9 Eagles chairman Steve Parish will battle the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Palace won their first trophy in 120 years back in May by upsetting moneyed Manchester City in the FA Cup final — and anyone with an ounce of romance rejoiced. Yet in less time than it takes for VAR to check for your average offside, the joy has been cut short. Because the growing trend for multi-ownership and the pursuit of power among the world's richest has put football second — again. With Eagles shareholder John Textor also having financial interests in Europa-League bound Lyon, rules have been broken, say Uefa. Two clubs under the influence of the same bloke can't compete in the same competition. And fair enough. So, Palace's defiant chairman, Steve Parish, now must lead the desperate fightback via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. What was once a little-known legal body based in a mansion in Switzerland is now becoming as big a name as Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland. And that Nottingham Forest could not wait to grass up Palace in the hope of nicking their Europa League spot is football 2025 in a nutshell. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 9 John Textor has since sold his stake in Palace to fellow American Woody Johnson Credit: AFP Lawyers and business tycoons have replaced centre-forwards and centrefolds as the main players at the heart of our national sport. Let's rewind to July 1999 and compare notes. The only reason I suggest this date is because that's when I started on staff at SunSport. Crystal Palace legend Geoff Thomas slams Uefa for denying them a Europa League place After bluffing my way through it for 26 years, this will be my last column before leaving so it's as good a point in time as any. Back then, on the cusp of the new millennium, Alan Shearer was widely reported as the Premier League's top earner on £34K a week at Newcastle. Roughly 100 times the average wage of the day. Shearer's £1.76million a year is dwarfed by the estimated £18.2m annually Mo Salah will trouser under his new Liverpool contract. Average wages in the UK for last year were roughly £37,000 per year. You don't have to be Carol Vorderman to work out that the gap has widened considerably. In the summer of '99, Manchester United were celebrating victory in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. The only treble the fans can enjoy these days is a stiff one in the boozer after the latest abject collapse on the pitch at a fallen giant. But at least that's football related. 9 Man Utd completed the Treble in 1999 with a dramatic win over Bayern Credit: Getty 9 Jonny Evans' departure at the end of the season means there are no more players at the club who played under Sir Alex Ferguson Credit: Getty So much of what masquerades as our favourite sport has nothing to do with shirts, shorts and shin pads. And back when Tony Blair was still regarded as a half-decent PM, there was no VAR to kill the spontaneous release that is a goal being scored. In 1999, the beleaguered boss of the referees' union did not have to appear regularly on TV to desperately fight the corner of members. In 1999, not every defeat was considered a national disaster by over-hyped figures in the game. In 1999, clubs were not selling their own hotels back to themselves to get round spending rules. Spending rules brought in to stop nation states hoovering up our best teams at the expense of fair competition. In 1999, there were 17 managers of British and Irish descent working in the Prem. Today it's five. In 1999, the biggest transfer of the summer was Nicolas Anelka's exit from Arsenal to Real Madrid. The £22.5m was considered big money. Most pertinent of all, in 1999 Premier League grounds were alive. They were not stop-offs for foreign tourists sitting in silent bewilderment while clutching bags of overpriced tat from club shops. The game hasn't gone these past 26 years but it's going. 9 Somewhere in the middle of all the legal battles, foreign takeovers, stakeholders, rights holders, influencers, extortionate ticket prices, popcorn, VAR, play-acting and social media tripe, there are still people kicking footballs. Cling on to that. CAPTAINCY IS IN LEVI'S GENES FAREWELL NOTE TO CHELSEA: Levi Colwill must be your next captain. During the Club World Cup, the defender grew in stature so much off the pitch and is emerging as a superb ambassador for a club that can struggle for positive PR. From discussing his secret LEGO passion, to bold declarations that Chelsea can win the title this season, this young man has the kind of character they have been aching for at Stamford Bridge since the departures of John Terry and Antonio Rudiger. When Reece James calls it a day wearing the armband, Colwill must take over. 9 Levi Colwill was integral to Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph in the US Credit: Getty JUAN-NIL LOSS BARCELONA is 920 miles from London. Marcus Rashford seems to think it is a world away. By refusing to answer any questions in English at his unveiling by the Spanish giants he has already scored a little own goal. You can pretend it's to ingratiate himself with the Catalan locals but nobody over here is really fooled. Rashford might think he has been harshly treated by the English media but I have never met a reporter who doesn't wish him all the very best and wants him to do well for his club and for England, more importantly. And more importantly than anything to do with football, his campaign for free school meals is a standout moment as a human being. 9 Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on a season-long loan after falling out with Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim Credit: Getty It's worth remembering that his move to Barcelona from Manchester United is only a season-long loan and that this time next year he may be back. There'll be questions then — and no hiding place behind the lingo.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Football's changed beyond belief since my first game 26 years ago – cling onto fact there's still people kicking a ball
AS CRYSTAL PALACE prepare a complex legal case against demotion from the Europa League, it makes you think. If not, it should do. That within two months of the only genuinely heart-warming moment from a forgettable Premier League season, the one feel-good factor from 12 months of humdrum routine has been blown to smithereens. 8 8 8 Palace won their first trophy in 120 years back in May by upsetting moneyed Manchester City in the FA Cup final — and anyone with an ounce of romance rejoiced. Yet in less time than it takes for VAR to check for your average offside, the joy has been cut short. Because the growing trend for multi-ownership and the pursuit of power among the world's richest has put football second — again. With Eagles shareholder John Textor also having financial interests in Europa-League bound Lyon, rules have been broken, say Uefa. Two clubs under the influence of the same bloke can't compete in the same competition. And fair enough. So, Palace's defiant chairman, Steve Parish, now must lead the desperate fightback via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. What was once a little-known legal body based in a mansion in Switzerland is now becoming as big a name as Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland. And that Nottingham Forest could not wait to grass up Palace in the hope of nicking their Europa League spot is football 2025 in a nutshell. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 8 Lawyers and business tycoons have replaced centre-forwards and centrefolds as the main players at the heart of our national sport. Let's rewind to July 1999 and compare notes. The only reason I suggest this date is because that's when I started on staff at SunSport. Crystal Palace legend Geoff Thomas slams Uefa for denying them a Europa League place After bluffing my way through it for 26 years, this will be my last column before leaving so it's as good a point in time as any. Back then, on the cusp of the new millennium, Alan Shearer was widely reported as the Premier League's top earner on £34K a week at Newcastle. Roughly 100 times the average wage of the day. Shearer's £1.76million a year is dwarfed by the estimated £18.2m annually Mo Salah will trouser under his new Liverpool contract. Average wages in the UK for last year were roughly £37,000 per year. You don't have to be Carol Vorderman to work out that the gap has widened considerably. In the summer of '99, Manchester United were celebrating victory in the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. The only treble the fans can enjoy these days is a stiff one in the boozer after the latest abject collapse on the pitch at a fallen giant. But at least that's football related. 8 8 So much of what masquerades as our favourite sport has nothing to do with shirts, shorts and shin pads. And back when Tony Blair was still regarded as a half-decent PM, there was no VAR to kill the spontaneous release that is a goal being scored. In 1999, the beleaguered boss of the referees' union did not have to appear regularly on TV to desperately fight the corner of members. In 1999, not every defeat was considered a national disaster by over-hyped figures in the game. In 1999, clubs were not selling their own hotels back to themselves to get round spending rules. Spending rules brought in to stop nation states hoovering up our best teams at the expense of fair competition. In 1999, there were 17 managers of British and Irish descent working in the Prem. Today it's five. In 1999, the biggest transfer of the summer was Nicolas Anelka's exit from Arsenal to Real Madrid. The £22.5m was considered big money. Most pertinent of all, in 1999 Premier League grounds were alive. They were not stop-offs for foreign tourists sitting in silent bewilderment while clutching bags of overpriced tat from club shops. The game hasn't gone these past 26 years but it's going. Somewhere in the middle of all the legal battles, foreign takeovers, stakeholders, rights holders, influencers, extortionate ticket prices, popcorn, VAR, play-acting and social media tripe, there are still people kicking footballs. Cling on to that. CAPTAINCY IS IN LEVI'S GENES FAREWELL NOTE TO CHELSEA: Levi Colwill must be your next captain. During the Club World Cup, the defender grew in stature so much off the pitch and is emerging as a superb ambassador for a club that can struggle for positive PR. From discussing his secret LEGO passion, to bold declarations that Chelsea can win the title this season, this young man has the kind of character they have been aching for at Stamford Bridge since the departures of John Terry and Antonio Rudiger. When Reece James calls it a day wearing the armband, Colwill must take over. JUAN-NIL LOSS BARCELONA is 920 miles from London. Marcus Rashford seems to think it is a world away. By refusing to answer any questions in English at his unveiling by the Spanish giants he has already scored a little own goal. You can pretend it's to ingratiate himself with the Catalan locals but nobody over here is really fooled. Rashford might think he has been harshly treated by the English media but I have never met a reporter who doesn't wish him all the very best and wants him to do well for his club and for England, more importantly. And more importantly than anything to do with football, his campaign for free school meals is a standout moment as a human being. 8 It's worth remembering that his move to Barcelona from Manchester United is only a season-long loan and that this time next year he may be back. There'll be questions then — and no hiding place behind the lingo.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crystal Palace: Woody Johnson completes purchase of John Textor's 43% stake in club
New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson has completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings' 43% stake in Crystal Palace. The announcement brings to an end controversial former co-owner John Textor's four year association with the club. Textor is co-owner of Eagle Football Holdings, who owned stakes in both Lyon and Palace as part of a multi club ownership model. Upon Palace qualifying for the Europa League last season, UEFA ruled that Textor had decisive influence in the south London club, demoting them to the Conference League as a result of Lyon also qualifying for the Europa League. UEFA rules state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition in the same season. Textor also aimed several digs at Palace chairman Steve Parish in an interview with talkSPORT earlier this month. 78-year-old Johnson has now bought Textor's shares, signing the Premier League's Owners' Charter in the process. Johnson, former U.S. Ambassador to the UK under Donald Trump, joins Parish, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer on Palace's board. On completion of the deal Woody Johnson said: 'I am honoured and privileged to be joining the ownership group of Crystal Palace Football Club. "It is an organisation with a proud history, tradition, and deep roots in English football in South London, which I came to admire during my time as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. "Eagles fans have demonstrated extraordinary loyalty, passion, and unwavering dedication and I am excited to meet and get to know them. "I have great respect for Steve Parish and the leadership he has provided over the years. I look forward to working with him and the entire ownership group to build on the club's recent successes and help shape an exciting future for Crystal Palace. "This is more than an investment - it's a commitment to realising the vision for the club, the community, and the culture around Selhurst Park.' Chairman Steve Parish added: 'At this exciting time for Crystal Palace, we are delighted to be welcoming Woody to the ownership of the Football Club. "We very much look forward to working alongside him to build on our historic recent success moving forwards.'
